The Tattoos
by stjtiger
Summary: Kai finally finishes his training and Jinora gets to oversee his tattooing. T to be safe.


Many years had passed, and under Jinora's great recommendations, Kai had completed his training at Air Temple Island. The only thing that kept him from his title of master was that he had yet to go through the tattooing process and anointment ceremony. Since Jinora was the master that oversaw most of his final training, she was given the option of overseeing Kai's tattooing process which she gladly jumped at.

Today, Kai was to start the process of getting his tattoos. Kai sat shirtless on a table in one of the more lightly used rooms of the temple, furnished with a clothed table, a smaller table full of tools and blue ink, and a full water basin. Jinora approached him with two bowls (one of wax, the other of a cream), cloth strips, and a razor. "Step one: shave it all. Head, arms, legs, everything. Certain parts we'll wax so we get it all."

Kai huffed looking down at his hairy body and back at Jinora. Puberty had been overly generous in the body hair department. "You're going to enjoy this, aren't you?"

"Only slightly. Now see, if you had listened and finished your training earlier, you probably wouldn't have so much hair." She began dribbling wax across the top of his back and pressing strips of cloth to it.

"I guess I took the nomad part a bit too seriously. Ouch!"

Jinora had ripped a strip from his skin. "Oh shush. We're just getting started. How many rites of passage do you know of that doesn't include some form of pain?"

"If it's so painful, why do we agree to do it? Gah!"

"Bite your shirt or something. Someone's gonna think you're dying. Tattoos are a way of saying we've done something with our lives. We recognize our culture and are dedicated to it. We have mastered our art. How many people would train for decades if there was no end reward?"

"You don't see earthbenders or firebenders or waterbenders with tattoos because they've mastered it."

"Well, in case you haven't already noticed, their styles are always growing and changing in their techniques and abilities. We hadn't seen new abilities for centuries until I discovered spirit projection. And there's no guarantee anyone else can do it." Kai sat quietly as Jinora continued her work down his back, tensing up and groaning with each strip she yanked off. "Okay, ready to kiss your hair goodbye for a while?"

"I guess," he sighed. He walked over to the basin and dipped his head in, flinging it backwards so the wet hair would not flop in his face. Taking a small glob of cream, he rubbed it throughout his hair. With one more deep breath, Kai took the razor from Jinora and began the removal of his hair one little strip at a time.

Once his hair was completely gone, Kai analyzed all the strands and clippings on the ground and surrounding him. "You look devastated. I promise it grows back eventually."

"I know. I'm still gonna miss it 'til it does." He sighed. "What's next?"

"Shave the pits." He rubbed cream into his thick hair covering his underarms. Jinora helped him to properly remove the small bushes. "And while we're shaving we can do your legs, too." He gave her a look of skepticism. "Would you rather wax them?"

His skepticism shifted into defeat. "No," he mumbled taking up another glob of cream and the razor.

"You shouldn't complain so much about all this. The removal of all your body hair is a physical representation of your spiritual cleansing and renewal through your airbending training."

"Doesn't make it any less painful."

"That doesn't mean complain. I didn't complain one bit when I got my tattoos."

"Yeah, but you had prepared for that your entire life. I've prepared for this a few years. Huge difference there."

"Are you ready for the final waxing?"

"Just please get it over with." Kai laid flat on his back while the wax was dribbled down his body. One after another the strips stripped his body of its hair. "Is that it?"

"Almost. One spot left, and you're going to have to remove your pants."

Kai blushed, "Wait, what?"

"You don't have to drop them all the way, just enough to get to your bush. Just relax. I had to do the same thing."

"Yeah but you didn't have me asking you to do it! You had an acolyte."

"Think of me as a teacher first, girlfriend second."

"It's still a little weird."

"Fine, you do it." She shoved the bowl of wax towards him and turned her back to him.

He spread the wax and pressed the strips down, and started to rip it and just could not do that to himself. "Jinora!" He whined. "I need help."

"Hm, what was that?"

"Jinora, would you please come help me?"

"Will you quit fussing, and let me do it?"

"Yes dear, just get this hot wax off my privates."

She scurried back over to him and shamelessly yanked the strips as tears formed in Kai's eyes while he bit his lip from the pain. "Okay, I'll give you a few minutes to clean up and cool down a bit before we start tattooing."

Kai nodded and sauntered off towards the showers. He ran his hands across his now bald skin in thought. He dried off and went back to the room to find Jinora setting up candles. "What's all this for?"

"For the cleansing ceremony and then the blessing of the tattoos afterward."

"Do we have a ceremony for everything?"

"Almost, but we're of a very spiritually enlightened people."

"No. You come from enlightened people. I was sort of adopted, remember?" He slid back onto the table.

"Lay back and we'll get this over with." He did as instructed. She lit the candles she had previously arranged and a small bushel of incense. She airbended the smoke from the incense around Kai's body. "In the name of the almighty sky bison, I cleanse you of earthly attachment. I allow you to detach yourself and become wind." The smoke gently wafted into Kai's nostrils. At first Kai sniffled at it soliciting a comment from Jinora, "Relax, if you'd inhale it, it'll numb your nerves some. Believe me you'll appreciate it later." He inhaled deeply, taking in as much as he could, feeling a small high coming on with the inhalation of the smoke. "Are you ready to begin?"

He gave a wobbly nod. Jinora took up the needle ended stick and brought the blue ink over next to the table. Starting at the arrow on his forehead, Jinora pulled the skin tight and began the repetitions of inserting and reinserting the needle end of the stick into his skin. After a while, the arrow formed on his forehead and began going down his back. After hours upon hours of work on Jinora's end, the arrows were branching off of the main one down his spine. It was well into the night before Jinora finished the tattoos and wiped clean the final drops of excess ink from his feet. "Done?" He started to sit up.

"Just stay put. Number one, we still have to bless the tattoos. Number two, you will be very sore for a little while." The pain radiated from the still fresh tattoos as he layed back, once again flat on the table. Jinora began to once again bend the incense smoke around the room. "Spirits, hear my prayer. Bless this boy as he embarks on his new journeys, a man and master of our sacred art. After many years of training and enlightenment, we ask great spirits that you help guide him in his challenges as an airbending master." The smoke gradually wafted out of the small window. "Congratulations, Kai. You did it."


End file.
